WHY THE BLIND MAN SAW "MEN AS TREES WALKING"

I spend a significant amount of time pondering Scripture. I have made its study a main part of my life. I've encountered verses in the Judeo-Christian Bible that felt like conundrums. I would mentally pick at them for months, sometimes even years, hoping for the day an insight would suddenly emerge. One such passage that has long puzzled me is from Mark 8:22-26, where Jesus healed a blind man in Bethsaida. After Jesus touched him, the man reported seeing "men as trees, walking." It seems it was not an instant, perfect healing. Jesus had to lay hands on him a second time for the man to receive full clarity. Why did it take Jesus praying for the man twice?

In the story, Jesus takes the blind man outside the village, spits on his eyes, and lays hands on him. Earlier in the Gospels (John 9:6), there is a similar event, only this time Jesus spat on the ground to make clay and anointed another blind man's eyes. As the Creator of all things (Colossians 1:16; John 1:3), Jesus is no stranger to forming life from clay. Genesis 2:7 describes God shaping Adam from the dust of the earth. So, in this case, in John 9, Jesus expertly "rebuilds" the man's eyes using mud, much like a master practitioner. I wonder if the man did not have eyeballs, and that was why Jesus used mud to place eyeballs in the empty sockets? That is something to think about.

In this case, Jesus spat on the man's eyes. The man washed as instructed, and Jesus asked him how he saw. The man responded, "I see men as trees, walking." Jesus touched him again, and his vision became perfectly clear. I am not saying Jesus had to touch the man twice because Jesus had lost His power.  Jesus does not do anything halfway. In my life, I have seen folks healed instantly, and other times healing was a process. The first touch fully healed the physical eyes. But vision isn't just about the eyes. It's a complex interaction between the body and the brain.

Our eyes function like cameras, capturing light but not interpreting it. The pupil adjusts to let in the right amount of light, which then hits the retina. From there, signals travel along the optic nerve, crossing at the optic chiasma where light from the left eye switches to the right brain hemisphere, and light received by the right eye crosses to the left hemisphere. Finally, these signals reach the occipital lobe in the back of the brain, where they are translated into images that we can understand.

Have you ever been hit in the back of the head and seen stars? That is your occipital lobe banging against the inside of your skull. It's a lot like hitting your funny bone and feeling that electric tingle. I was reading some research literature recently that immediately reminded me of the blind man in the Bible.  I found out that during sleep, the occipital lobe experiences sudden spikes every 30 minutes or so. I asked myself why that happens. With further study, I found that the brain is opportunistic, supporting the psalmist David's words where he said, "...I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalms 139:14). If an area like the occipital lobe becomes dormant (as it would in long-term blindness), other regions of the brain begin to take over that "sleeping" territory. To prevent this "takeover," the brain sends periodic impulses to keep it active, causing images to appear during dreams.

In the blind man's case, his eyes had been non-functional for so long that his occipital lobe was not primed to process visual input properly. Jesus' first touch healed the eyes perfectly. They started functioning immediately like high-definition cameras. But the brain needed a divine "reboot" to handle the new flood of data. That's where the second touch came in. Jesus focused deeper into the man's body, specifically the brain, and addressed the more complex issues rather than surface ones. Jesus is the answer to the whole person!

This makes sense when you think about how our brains adapt over time. Processing new information doesn't happen instantaneously. It requires a significant process for assimilation of new material. Consider my own journey through life. I have 15 years of higher education under my belt. You may ask why so long? Because true understanding builds layer by layer.

It is impossible to cram a doctorate into a weekend.

That same principle applies to spiritual truths as well. When I first came to the faith, I held a Trinitarian view of God. I pictured the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7) as a gray-haired old man on a throne, with Jesus at His right hand and the Holy Spirit seen as a dove perched on His shoulder. But I kept hearing about the "oneness of God" in church circles. Curious about the difference between the two ideas, I asked an elder to explain. His response was that he could share over 200 Scriptures proving the Mighty God in Christ, but that it still would not click for me until I sought a personal revelation through prayer, fasting, and diligent study.

I took him at his word and began an intense search into the Word. One day, while reading John 2:19, Jesus' words seemed to leap off the page, which said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days "I" will raise it up" (referring to His body). Instantly, I recalled Acts 2:32, which says "God" raised Him up. How could both be true unless Jesus and God were one and the same? I reasoned that the only logical and credible answer was that both God and Jesus were the same, simply operating in different roles or "offices." It was a life-changing breakthrough for me, but it took time, effort, and openness to "rewire" my thinking.

Similarly, the blind man's occipital lobe needed time, or in this case, a miraculous nudge, to process the unfamiliar visual stimuli. His initial distorted view ("men as trees") wasn't a failure. It was a transitional or transformative step into a complete restoration.

If you are wrestling with a tough verse, I encourage you to let it marinate while you muse (Psalms 39:3). Pray, study, and stay open to the still small voice of God. Insights or revelations often arrive when a person least expects them, transforming puzzles into profound truths.

What Scriptures have puzzled you? Share in the comments. I'd love to hear your thoughts and maybe even muse on them together! :)